Marker of Hope (36 page)

“
Now!
” His voice was barely audible
over the upheaval.

I darted forward, falling into step with the
second half of the army. In a matter of seconds, I was in the
middle of screams and explosions and sharp objects intended to take
a stroke at any neck in their path. Lucky for me, they couldn’t see
me. At least not yet. I wondered how long Galilea’s block would
last focused on two hundred and some odd people.

The enemy deities weren’t dressed in the same
attire we were. Their ensemble was brilliant white and gold,
godlier in appearance. Pretentious, even, taking into consideration
what they were here for—to kill my daughter and me.

In the midst of my reverie, I lost David.
There were too many bodies colliding against one another, too much
blood for me to ignore. My nerves rattled. I took a breath and
closed my eyes for a millisecond. I regained my center and calmed
when I remembered David was invisible like me, which meant, for the
time being, he’d be fine. As I scoured the crowd, filled with
swords and bloodied wings, I spied my first target—a young male god
who’d just taken off a demon’s head. With the slyness of a panther,
I approached him from behind. Using my foot, I kicked in the back
of his knee. He fell to the ground. I gripped a handful of his
brown curls and pressed the flat side of my sword against his
throat.

“You’re going to take me to your leaders,” I
said.

“Or what?” he challenged. I pressed the sword
against his throat, and he squirmed. A trickle of blood slid down
his neck. “They’re not here.”

“You’re lying.” I jerked at hair.

“It’s the truth. They’ve gone in search of
the newborn.”

CHAPTER 40

Everything slowed around me, even my heart.
Had I not known better, I would’ve sworn it’d stopped beating at
all. The male god whimpered as I gripped my sword tighter,
inadvertently nicking his throat a second time. My hands shook as I
turned my head in every direction, scanning for David’s face, but I
couldn’t see past the mix of fog and smoke rising from the field. I
released my grip on the deity and stuck my sword in its sheath on
my back.

“If you’re lying, I’ll come back and kill
you,” I seethed.

“I doubt you’ll find me alive.”

“Then I suggest you count your blessings,” I
said before making my way around sets of wrestling warriors and
demons. I tripped over severed body parts. The scene was more
horrific than Frederick described and far worse than any war
documentary I’d seen. I never wanted any of this. It was chaos, and
for a minute, I thought I might be in hell. Then I realized I
was.

“David!” I called for him, but the sounds of
war and death weighed heavier in the air than my voice.
“Frederick!” I yelled. It was no use. No one could hear me. I
hardly heard myself. With my calls unanswered, I ran until I found
my way out of the bloodshed.

“Frederick…” I spoke into the breastplate.
“If you can hear me, I’m headed back to the house.” I panted, tears
forming in the corners of my eyes. “They’ve gone after Faith.”

The soles of my feet never felt as heavy as
they did when I broke past the edge of the forest and into the
shadows of trees. I stopped for a moment to gather my bearings. My
heart beat so fast I had trouble breathing. No matter which way I
looked, the forest appeared the same. I stepped to the right, but
changed my mind and took a few steps forward instead.

Or was it to the right?
Exasperated, I
raised both hands on my head.
Oh, please… Please! Which
way?

“Isis.” I heard the wind carrying my name,
and I tensed.

From behind a tree, not more than ten feet
away from me, I saw a bright light. A woman with dark hair stepped
out from behind it, her body glowing in an angelic aura. She
pointed to the left, and then disappeared, reappearing meters away
and summoning me to follow. As I stepped toward her, the woman
disappeared again. Unsure of what to do, I ran in the direction
she’d indicated. I wasn’t sure if it was a trap. But I had no time
to waste. I ran through the forest, my steps wild and furious and
faster than I thought possible. When I saw the twinkle of the house
lights ahead, I let out a small cry of relief as I continued
forward. I ran across the backyard and into the house. My lungs
burned, threatening to give out. I kept going. I reached the
kitchen door and raced through the hallway where I found remnants
of furniture scattered everywhere. Vasilika lay lifeless on the
stairs. I held in my sobs. I heard loud crashes and commotion
looming from the second floor. Taking two steps at a time, I
sprinted up the stairs.

I set foot on the top floor, turned into the
hallway, and found Alezzander fending off two male gods. One of
them caught Alezzander off guard and trapped him in a headlock.

“You don’t have to die today, Alezzander,”
the other deity said. “I’ll spare your life in exchange for the
infant’s. Where is she?”

“The child is our salvation,” Alezzander told
him. “I won’t let you do this.”

“You’re a traitor.” The deity raised his
sword. “As such, you’ll get what you deserve.”

“You’ve never been a worthy leader,”
Alezzander spit out.

The man swung his sword back. “Good
riddance.”

By instinct, my wrist twitched, and a dagger
flew across the room, straight into the man’s back. He fell to his
knees. Alezzander elbowed the deity holding him in the stomach and
rescued the sword from the kneeling man’s hand. Bestowing a swift
slash to the man’s throat, Alezzander’s former captor dropped to
the floor.

The man with the dagger in his back turned to
look at me.

With what little life he had left in him, he
wheezed as he said, “You—fight—dirty—you—little—shit.”

“Is there any other way?” I asked.

The man let out a laugh that turned to a
cough. His body went limp, and he fell to the floor, lifeless.

“Behind you!” I heard David’s voice warning
me, immediately followed by an explosion.

My feet were no longer grounded. My head
collided into something hard. I tried to stand, but a sharp pain in
my leg made me lose balance and fumble. My vision was blurred, warm
liquid trailing down my face.
Blood
. My ears were ringing. I
could make out the blurred figures of two bodies coming toward me.
Off to the right, another set of bodies was fighting with
Alezzander. I willed myself to stand in spite of the burning ache
in my thigh. I reached for the sword in my back. It wasn’t there. I
must’ve lost it when I fell. I reached down to touch my leg and
found an object embedded in the outer part of my thigh. I wiped the
blood off my eyes with the back of my arm, and I concentrated my
sight on the foreign article, forcing my vision to return to
normal. The source of the pain in my leg was a knife. One of them
must’ve thrown it at me. I took a deep breath and ripped it out.
The pain grew greater. But I had no time to tend the wound.

I pointed the bloody weapon at the man and
woman running toward me. A body tackled the man from
behind—David’s. But the woman treaded forward. Inexplicably, a ball
of light formed in the palm of her hand. She hurled the sphere at
me. I dove out of the way and onto the floor, only to land at her
feet. She looked down at me, raising her foot to crush my head. I
pointed the knife at the sole of her white boot, and it tunneled
in. She screamed in pain, and I withdrew the knife. Using my hands,
I pulled her legs out from under her. Thanks to the adrenaline in
my body, I somehow managed to pounce on her. My fist hit her nose;
hers hit my stomach. The blow left me winded, wheezing for air. She
pushed me off her and stood up. Her hand created another sphere of
light, and she raised her arm, ready to fire. A sword cut through
the air, slicing her hand off at the wrist. It fell to the floor. A
second later, her dismembered head and body crashed on the floor
next to her hand.

David heaved me up from one arm, and then
turned in Alezzander’s direction. Three of my warriors were
standing with him. Two deities dressed in white lay on the floor,
dead.

“More are coming,” David said, panting. His
face and arms were a bloodied mess, but I couldn’t tell if it was
his own blood. “They knew Faith would be here. They knew you’d come
back for her.”

“It was a set up?” I wiped my bleeding
forehead. “I knew it. It was too easy.” I closed my eyes for a
second. My thigh was killing me. My head felt like it was about
burst. “Where’s Frederick?”

“Trying to win a war.”

“Is there any way to keep the enemy from
finding us?”

“Galilea’s invisible block is depleted. By
the looks of it, Cezario’s block is down also. Otherwise, they
wouldn’t have found the house.”

“We have to find a way lure the Council’s
warriors from the house,” Alezzander said. “A diversion to keep
them occupied while we figure out where to take Faith.”

I blinked. Alezzander was on to
something.

“Where are Faith and my mom?” I asked.

“The safe room,” Alezzander said. “Along with
Samuel and Nyx.”

“We have a safe room?” I looked at David. He
nodded. “Where?”

“Behind the closet wall.”

“Oh,” I said. “Alezzander, where—where’s
Pluto? Is he…? “

“Alive. Standing guard with Ayrie.”
Alezzander pointed his thumb to my bedroom door.

I limped to the door and knocked, asking to
be let in. Persia opened the door, a sword in her hand.

“Is it over?” she asked.

“No.” I turned to Pluto. “Hey,” I said, “It’s
your turn to shine, soldier.”

CHAPTER 41

An update from Frederick came in through
David’s earpiece. Our army had all but vanquished the Turpis
forces, and the rest had retreated. But what was left of the
Council’s battalion was moving our way. By Frederick’s count, there
were over one hundred Council soldiers left. Thanks to Galilea’s
invisible block, we’d only lost two dozen warriors. It seemed few
in relation to the number we’d had to fight against, but it’d be
two dozen bodies I’d have to bury, knowing they died for my child
and me. I’d unwillingly killed them. I’d have to live with the fact
for the rest of my life.

“It’s not working,” Pluto said. “I can’t… I
can’t get through the walls in the safe room. The concrete is too
thick. I need to feel an essence for it to work.”

“Concrete is your kryptonite?” I asked.

Pluto nodded.

“Can you reproduce them from a picture?”

He shook his head.

“What you’re telling me is there’s no other
way but to get them out of there for this to work?” I asked. He
nodded. “I don’t like that plan.”

“You won’t know the difference between the
clones and the real thing,” Pluto said. “I assure you, madam.”

“Isis,” David said, holding his earpiece,
“Frederick says they’re closing in on the house. We have a minute
before they reach us.”

“Cezario.” Alezzander jerked his head toward
the door. Cezario followed him out of the room.

Meanwhile, Pluto and David awaited my
decision.

“Bring them out,” I told Pluto. “But make
sure they’re back in the safe room as soon as we’ve lured the enemy
away.” I glanced at Persia who’d been standing by the bed listening
mutely. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, madam,” Pluto and Persia said in
unison.

“They’re here,” David said.

I rushed out the door, David at my heels. My
heart pumped blood like I was running a marathon. As I called my
inner beast to manifest, my face tightened. I jumped over the
trellis and landed on the bottom floor. David landed with a heavy
thud beside me. A moment later, five of my warriors stood at my
sides.

“Trying to intimidate the enemy?” David
asked, noticing my scaly demeanor.

“First impressions count,” I said.

Within seconds, the foyer was flooded with
warriors dressed in white and gold flowing fabrics. Out of the
corner of my eye, I saw Claire appear at the foot of stairs with
Faith in her arms. She ran past me and rounded the corner toward
the enclosed patio. Clones.

Pluto is a genius.

“She has the child!” A goddess pointed to
Claire’s clone. “After them!”

Five Council warriors ran after a fake Claire
and Faith. The other ten retrieved their weapons, swinging sharp
blades and spiked balls at me. I made for the front door, jumped
off the porch, and headed toward the edge of the lake where part of
my army was amassed. In front of them stood Claire, cradling Faith.
There was no doubt Pluto was right about his cloning abilities.
They were so believable, in fact, that from the left side of the
house, the entire Council army charged against my troops to get to
the phony copies of my daughter and mother.

As if in a frenzy, I swung my sword at the
white-clothed deities, slashing, stabbing, and fighting for my
life. From the same direction the Council warriors had entered the
current battle, I saw Frederick leading the rest of our troops into
the bloody mayhem. The Council army was trapped, enclosed in a
circle made up of my rebel army. The killing continued. Screams of
warfare filled the night air. I caught sight of Galilea engaged in
battle, her bloodied face fierce, her sword relentless against the
enemy. My army was unstoppable. We were winning. And then, at last,
sweaty and bloodstained, I saw Galen and Eryx finishing off the
last of the Council warriors. I was about to raise my sword,
declaring our victory, when I saw a third pair of Claire and Faith
clones standing on the patio. Behind them, Samuel walked out, his
head bowed, a sword leveled to his neck. And that’s when it dawned
on me…

Those aren’t clones.

“Faith!” I took several steps forward.

“Isis, no!” Claire screamed.

“Listen to your mommy, or she and the brat
both die,” Olympia said, peeking her head from behind Claire’s. “I
told you you’d be sorry.”